NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The top-seeded Albertus Magnus College softball team suffered a hard-fought setback against the third-seeded Wildcats of Johnson & Wales (R.I) University in Thursday afternoon's second-round playoff game of the 2022 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Tournament at the Shea Softball Field.
Jess Stettinger (East Haven, Conn.) led the Falcons on offense with an RBI and a hit, while Ava Gladwin (Guilford, Conn.) smacked a hit and scored a run.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Johnson & Wales 10 | Albertus Magnus 2
RECORDS: Albertus Magnus (29-9) | Johnson & Wales (33-6)
LOCATION: Shea Softball Field
HOW IT HAPPENED
JWU jumped out to the early 2-0 lead over the Falcons as the Wildcats scored a pair of runs off a two-out home run from Kaelanie Gamble, but Albertus countered the visitors with a run in the bottom of the first following an RBI single to right field from Stettinger.
The Wildcats kept their offensive momentum going in the top of the second scoring one run on two hits to push their lead back up to two, 3-1. Solid pitching from JWU starter Kathleen Scheid and defensive work forced the Falcons to go down 1-2-3, keeping the score in favor of the Wildcats, 3-1, heading into the top of the third.
After forcing the Wildcats to strand a runner on base in the top of the third, Albertus rallied in the bottom half of the inning as a sacrifice bunt from Franklin allowed Gladwin to score from third on the throw, cutting the deficit to one, 3-2.
The Falcons saw the Wildcats' lead grow to five, 7-2, in the top of the fourth, as the blue-and-gold scored four runs off four hits against Falcon starter Skylar Arent (New Fairfield, Conn.) to bring the score to 7-2. With two outs and a runner on second, Albertus went to Erin Dighello (Wallingford, Conn.) for pitching relief, and she forced the pop-up to second for the final out of the inning.
In the home half of the fourth, Dighello started off the Falcon rally with a one-out single to right-center, but shortly after the relief pitcher was out at second, while Karissa Kerrs (Wappingers Falls, N.Y.) reached on a fielder's choice. However, a groundout to the pitcher from Kayla Resto (Shelton, Conn.) ended the rally and the inning.
After a scoreless fifth inning, JWU struck again in the top of the sixth scoring an additional two runs to extend its lead to seven, 9-2. Another 1-2-3 inning from Scheid kept the Falcons at bay heading into the top of the seventh.
The Wildcats added an insurance run during their final at-bat, giving the visitors an eight-run cushion, 10-2, before securing the quarterfinal sweep with a scoreless seventh inning.
TOP PERFORMERS
- WP: Katie Scheid (W, 7-3) - 7.0 Innings | 4 Hits | 2 Runs | 0 Walks | 2 Strikeouts
- LP: Skylar Arent (L, 13-4) - 3.2 Innings | 8 Hits | 7 Runs | 0 Walks | 4 Strikeouts
- Geloso, Stettinger, Dighello, and Gladwin all had a hit in the game.
- Franklin tallied a run and an RBI.
- Stettinger recorded AMC's second RBI.
NOTEWORTHY
- Today's postseason game was the third match-up of the 2022 season between the Falcons and Wildcats.
- The Falcons are 24-33 all-time against the Wildcats.
- Geloso is on a four-game hitting streak.
- Dighello recorded her first hit of the season.
- Franklin has both scored a run and driven in a run in each of her last three games.
UP NEXT - GNAC TOURNAMENT
The Falcons' postseason run still remains as the blue-and-white will now face the No. 3 seeded Monks of Saint Joseph's College on Saturday, May 7, in an elimination game. Game time is set for 9:30 AM in Boston, Mass.
First Round - Tuesday, May 3 (single-elimination)
North play-in: #3N Saint Joseph's Maine 4 | #4N Rivier 3 - 9 innings
South play-in: #3S St. Joseph (Conn.) 8 | #4S Regis (Mass.) 1
Second Round - Thursday, May 5 (double-elimination begins)
Game 1: #2N Simmons 6 | #3N Saint Joseph's Maine 0
Game 2: #2S JWU 1 | #3S St. Joseph (Conn.) 0 - 8 innings
Game 3: Winner of Game 1 at #1N Emmanuel - 7:00 PM
Game 4: #2S JWU 10 | #1S Albertus Magnus 2
Semifinals- Saturday, May 7 (hosted by #1N Emmanuel)
Game 5: #1S Albertus Magnus vs. #3N Saint Joseph's Maine - 9:30 AM (elimination game)
Game 6: Loser of Game 3 vs. #3S St. Joseph (Conn.) - 12:00 PM (elimination game)
Game 7: Winner of Game 3 vs. #2S JWU - 2:30 PM
Game 8: Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 6 - 5:00 PM (elimination game)
Championship - Sunday, May 8 (hosted by #1N Emmanuel)
Game 9: Winner of Game 8 vs. Loser Game 7 - 10:00 AM (elimination game)
Game 10: Winner of Game 7 vs. Winner Game 9 - 12:30 PM
Game 11: If necessary - 3:00 PM
